BeeYourself
08-07-2007, 08:01 PM
RELEASE: IMMEDIATE
CAMP DODGE, IOWA
JOHNSTON, IOWA
AUGUST 3, 2007
4:30 P.M.
*PUBLIC ADVISORY*
“IOWA FLAG” EXERCISE TO BE HELD IN NORTHWEST IOWA AUGUST 7-18
The Iowa Army and Air National Guard, various active duty units, and the Iowa Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) will participate in a joint training event, Iowa Flag, August 7-18 in northwest Iowa.
Iowa’s participation in the Global War on Terror requires joint reconnaissance and combat support missions. In combat theaters of operation, Iowa Air and Army National Guard aircraft are required to track human and vehicle movement, both friendly and hostile, through urban environments, as well as on open stretches of highway and in sparsely-populated rural areas. These types of missions, and certain Close Air Support operations, require lower altitudes not currently available in Military Operating Areas (MOAs).
To train effectively and in order to support multi-faceted combat missions, Iowa Air and Army National Guard units have teamed up to launch the Iowa Flag exercise. This joint exercise will include the establishment of a temporary operating area at approximately 8,000 feet which may extend as low as 1,200 feet in a rectangular area situated in northwest Iowa. The military operating area will extend from Rockwell City, south to Carroll, west to Charter Oak, north to Ida Grove, and then west to Rockwell City. Given the temporary operating altitudes during Iowa Flag, aircraft may be visible at lower altitudes as late as midnight throughout the temporary operating area. All aircraft and vehicles participating in Iowa Flag will be clearly marked, and vehicles will have U.S. Government license plates. All personnel involved in the exercise will be in uniform.
This multi-faceted event utilizes many different military assets from fighter aircraft to ground vehicles. Here’s what Iowans may see over the course of the exercise:
1) A number of ground teams will operate in and around the Carroll, Storm Lake, and Pocahontas areas. These teams will operate a variety of vehicles, including tractor-trailers, delivery-type trucks, Humvees, various military cargo trucks, green or blue pick-up trucks, white Civil Air Patrol vehicles, plus other equipment. Personnel will operate both in town and out in the country.
2) The ground teams will utilize sophisticated optics and communications equipment, including night vision equipment, laser ranging equipment (eye safe), satellite communications systems, and Line of Sight (LOS) radio equipment
3) Small military convoys will operate on numerous roads between Cherokee and Carroll.
4) The Iowa Wing of the CAP will be flying circular and “Figure 8” search patterns over Carroll, Storm Lake and other northwest Iowa locations during the exercise. These aircraft are white, single-engine propeller aircraft (like Cessna 172s and 182s) with CAP markings in dark blue and red. These aircraft and personnel may also utilize airports in various northwest Iowa communities.
5) For the duration of the exercise, Iowa Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from Boone and Waterloo will be operating at the Carroll and Storm Lake airports, and near various northwest Iowa communities. These aircraft will be offloading and loading troops.
6) Iowa Air National Guard F-16 fighter aircraft from the 132nd Fighter Wing in Des Moines will be operating over much of northwest Iowa, from Carroll to the Minnesota border, and from Fort Dodge to west of Storm Lake. People may also see red flares in the sky (especially at night) that look like fireworks.
7) KC-135 tanker aircraft from the Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City and other units and locations will be operating in areas from Spencer to Estherville. The tankers will be conducting refueling operations with F-16 fighter aircraft above 20,000 feet, but it may be possible to observe their missions. There might also be flares associated with the refueling operations.
8) Additional aircraft, including the RC-135, E-8 JSTARS, E-3 AWACS, and B-2 Spirit bomber may also participate but their altitude or operating orbit will make it difficult to actually see the aircraft. The B-2 bomber may be visible at a high altitude over numerous northwest Iowa communities.
For questions concerning this release as well as additional information about the operations, training, and activities of the Iowa Army and Air National Guard, please contact Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, Iowa National Guard Public Affairs Officer by email at gregory.hapgood@ia.ngb.army.mil or (515) 252-4582 (office), (515) 971-6385 (cell), or (515) 986-5725 (home). You may also contact Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden at (515) 252-4666 (office), (515) 480-7647 (cell), (515) 251-7335 (home)or by email at duff.mcfadden@ia.ngb.army.mil.
-END-
IOWA NATIONAL GUARD
Americans at Their Best
=========
Giuliani, McCain to Pass on Iowa Straw Poll
Washingtonpost.com
By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 6, 2007; 6:06 PM
PORTSMOUTH, N.H., June 6 -- Rudolph W. Giuliani and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) announced Wednesday that they will not compete in the first real contest of the 2008 presidential campaign, the nonbinding Ames, Iowa, straw poll in August.
In a conference call with reporters, Giuliani campaign manager Mike DuHaime said the campaign still will participate in the Iowa Republican caucuses, which currently are scheduled for January. He said the campaign will use the money it would have spent in Ames this summer to campaign more effectively later in the year, when it counts.
"We are 100 percent committed to winning the Iowa caucuses in January," DuHaime said. "We are going to take all the resources that were budgeted and use them to [to win the caucuses]. The best way to do that is to dedicate those resources to the caucus."
The McCain campaign announced plans to skip the Ames straw poll after the Giuliani news. McCain campaign manager Terry Nelson said in a statement that "in light of today's news, it is clear that the Ames straw poll will not be a meaningful test of the leading candidates' organizational abilities."
Giuliani had signaled earlier that he might not participate in the straw poll, which demands a massive organizational effort by campaigns. More than 50,000 people are expected to show up at the convention center there, and the candidate best able to cajole his supporters to the event will win.
DuHaime said that could take as much as $3 million and a large investment of time and other resources. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the leading fundraiser on the Republican side, is investing heavily in the contest.
The decision by Giuliani, who leads the GOP field in opinion polls, and McCain is likely to sharply reduce the influence of the straw poll, which traditionally has winnowed the Republican field in the months before the primary season begins in earnest. Democrats do not have an equivalent straw poll in the summer.
Actor and former GOP senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee, who is exploring a presidential bid, has not said whether he will participate in the straw poll. But his decision to delay his entry into the race until later this summer is said by some advisers to be an indication that he will not.
That would leave Romney and several of the lesser-known candidates in the contest.
Former Iowa congressman Jim Nussle, who is a Giuliani adviser, said the August contest will remain important for what he called "second tier" candidates looking for attention and money.
"That's the one thing that at least with Rudy Giuliani is not necessary," he said.
Giuliani is likely to face questions about whether he can win the Iowa caucus. In recent polls in the state, he comes in a close third behind Romney and McCain. He has hired fewer staff in the state, though DuHaime said Wednesday that the campaign will soon begin moving more people there.
Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said his candidate is "going to keep traveling across Iowa and will continue to work hard to grow our campaign organization there."
"As for campaigns that decide to skip Ames," Madden said, "it has probably become clear to them that Iowa voters want to see conservative change in Washington, and if a candidate stands before the voters of Iowa without a conservative record or a conservative message, it makes it very hard for them to compete for support there."
==========
Either 2 things can explain this. The candidates do not want to be ashamed by Ron Paul kicking their butts, or this is the start of the inside job part two. How they can afford this stuff is beyond me. It seems like an act of a very paranoid government. If I were Iowan, I would be pissed off about this big time.
Relevant links:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/06/AR2007060601321.html
http://www.iowanationalguard.com/PublicAffairs/news/20070803_IowaFlagExercise.html
CAMP DODGE, IOWA
JOHNSTON, IOWA
AUGUST 3, 2007
4:30 P.M.
*PUBLIC ADVISORY*
“IOWA FLAG” EXERCISE TO BE HELD IN NORTHWEST IOWA AUGUST 7-18
The Iowa Army and Air National Guard, various active duty units, and the Iowa Wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) will participate in a joint training event, Iowa Flag, August 7-18 in northwest Iowa.
Iowa’s participation in the Global War on Terror requires joint reconnaissance and combat support missions. In combat theaters of operation, Iowa Air and Army National Guard aircraft are required to track human and vehicle movement, both friendly and hostile, through urban environments, as well as on open stretches of highway and in sparsely-populated rural areas. These types of missions, and certain Close Air Support operations, require lower altitudes not currently available in Military Operating Areas (MOAs).
To train effectively and in order to support multi-faceted combat missions, Iowa Air and Army National Guard units have teamed up to launch the Iowa Flag exercise. This joint exercise will include the establishment of a temporary operating area at approximately 8,000 feet which may extend as low as 1,200 feet in a rectangular area situated in northwest Iowa. The military operating area will extend from Rockwell City, south to Carroll, west to Charter Oak, north to Ida Grove, and then west to Rockwell City. Given the temporary operating altitudes during Iowa Flag, aircraft may be visible at lower altitudes as late as midnight throughout the temporary operating area. All aircraft and vehicles participating in Iowa Flag will be clearly marked, and vehicles will have U.S. Government license plates. All personnel involved in the exercise will be in uniform.
This multi-faceted event utilizes many different military assets from fighter aircraft to ground vehicles. Here’s what Iowans may see over the course of the exercise:
1) A number of ground teams will operate in and around the Carroll, Storm Lake, and Pocahontas areas. These teams will operate a variety of vehicles, including tractor-trailers, delivery-type trucks, Humvees, various military cargo trucks, green or blue pick-up trucks, white Civil Air Patrol vehicles, plus other equipment. Personnel will operate both in town and out in the country.
2) The ground teams will utilize sophisticated optics and communications equipment, including night vision equipment, laser ranging equipment (eye safe), satellite communications systems, and Line of Sight (LOS) radio equipment
3) Small military convoys will operate on numerous roads between Cherokee and Carroll.
4) The Iowa Wing of the CAP will be flying circular and “Figure 8” search patterns over Carroll, Storm Lake and other northwest Iowa locations during the exercise. These aircraft are white, single-engine propeller aircraft (like Cessna 172s and 182s) with CAP markings in dark blue and red. These aircraft and personnel may also utilize airports in various northwest Iowa communities.
5) For the duration of the exercise, Iowa Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from Boone and Waterloo will be operating at the Carroll and Storm Lake airports, and near various northwest Iowa communities. These aircraft will be offloading and loading troops.
6) Iowa Air National Guard F-16 fighter aircraft from the 132nd Fighter Wing in Des Moines will be operating over much of northwest Iowa, from Carroll to the Minnesota border, and from Fort Dodge to west of Storm Lake. People may also see red flares in the sky (especially at night) that look like fireworks.
7) KC-135 tanker aircraft from the Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing in Sioux City and other units and locations will be operating in areas from Spencer to Estherville. The tankers will be conducting refueling operations with F-16 fighter aircraft above 20,000 feet, but it may be possible to observe their missions. There might also be flares associated with the refueling operations.
8) Additional aircraft, including the RC-135, E-8 JSTARS, E-3 AWACS, and B-2 Spirit bomber may also participate but their altitude or operating orbit will make it difficult to actually see the aircraft. The B-2 bomber may be visible at a high altitude over numerous northwest Iowa communities.
For questions concerning this release as well as additional information about the operations, training, and activities of the Iowa Army and Air National Guard, please contact Lt. Col. Greg Hapgood, Iowa National Guard Public Affairs Officer by email at gregory.hapgood@ia.ngb.army.mil or (515) 252-4582 (office), (515) 971-6385 (cell), or (515) 986-5725 (home). You may also contact Master Sgt. Duff E. McFadden at (515) 252-4666 (office), (515) 480-7647 (cell), (515) 251-7335 (home)or by email at duff.mcfadden@ia.ngb.army.mil.
-END-
IOWA NATIONAL GUARD
Americans at Their Best
=========
Giuliani, McCain to Pass on Iowa Straw Poll
Washingtonpost.com
By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 6, 2007; 6:06 PM
PORTSMOUTH, N.H., June 6 -- Rudolph W. Giuliani and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) announced Wednesday that they will not compete in the first real contest of the 2008 presidential campaign, the nonbinding Ames, Iowa, straw poll in August.
In a conference call with reporters, Giuliani campaign manager Mike DuHaime said the campaign still will participate in the Iowa Republican caucuses, which currently are scheduled for January. He said the campaign will use the money it would have spent in Ames this summer to campaign more effectively later in the year, when it counts.
"We are 100 percent committed to winning the Iowa caucuses in January," DuHaime said. "We are going to take all the resources that were budgeted and use them to [to win the caucuses]. The best way to do that is to dedicate those resources to the caucus."
The McCain campaign announced plans to skip the Ames straw poll after the Giuliani news. McCain campaign manager Terry Nelson said in a statement that "in light of today's news, it is clear that the Ames straw poll will not be a meaningful test of the leading candidates' organizational abilities."
Giuliani had signaled earlier that he might not participate in the straw poll, which demands a massive organizational effort by campaigns. More than 50,000 people are expected to show up at the convention center there, and the candidate best able to cajole his supporters to the event will win.
DuHaime said that could take as much as $3 million and a large investment of time and other resources. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the leading fundraiser on the Republican side, is investing heavily in the contest.
The decision by Giuliani, who leads the GOP field in opinion polls, and McCain is likely to sharply reduce the influence of the straw poll, which traditionally has winnowed the Republican field in the months before the primary season begins in earnest. Democrats do not have an equivalent straw poll in the summer.
Actor and former GOP senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee, who is exploring a presidential bid, has not said whether he will participate in the straw poll. But his decision to delay his entry into the race until later this summer is said by some advisers to be an indication that he will not.
That would leave Romney and several of the lesser-known candidates in the contest.
Former Iowa congressman Jim Nussle, who is a Giuliani adviser, said the August contest will remain important for what he called "second tier" candidates looking for attention and money.
"That's the one thing that at least with Rudy Giuliani is not necessary," he said.
Giuliani is likely to face questions about whether he can win the Iowa caucus. In recent polls in the state, he comes in a close third behind Romney and McCain. He has hired fewer staff in the state, though DuHaime said Wednesday that the campaign will soon begin moving more people there.
Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said his candidate is "going to keep traveling across Iowa and will continue to work hard to grow our campaign organization there."
"As for campaigns that decide to skip Ames," Madden said, "it has probably become clear to them that Iowa voters want to see conservative change in Washington, and if a candidate stands before the voters of Iowa without a conservative record or a conservative message, it makes it very hard for them to compete for support there."
==========
Either 2 things can explain this. The candidates do not want to be ashamed by Ron Paul kicking their butts, or this is the start of the inside job part two. How they can afford this stuff is beyond me. It seems like an act of a very paranoid government. If I were Iowan, I would be pissed off about this big time.
Relevant links:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/06/AR2007060601321.html
http://www.iowanationalguard.com/PublicAffairs/news/20070803_IowaFlagExercise.html